The Speaker’s Progress

Georgina van Welie, Sulayman Al-Bassam

genre

theatre
Date

6 - June 7, 2012
Location

Theater Bellevue

In an unnamed Arab state, in which all forms of theatre and public gatherings have been banned, a condemned 1960’s performance of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night becomes the focal point for resistance blogs and dissident social networks. The state, eager to quell this dangerous mixture of nostalgia and dissent, commissions the Speaker, a once radical theatre maker, now regime apologist, to make a forensic reconstruction and public denunciation of the 1960’s piece. But as the Speaker and his group of volunteers delve deeper, they find themselves increasingly engaged with the condemned material and discover in the act of performance, a solidarity that transforms the gathering into an unequivocal act of defiance towards the state. A dark satire on the decades of hopelessness and political intertia that fed the recent revolts across the Arab region.

dates

Wed June 6 2012 10:30 PM

Thu June 7 2012 10:30 PM

information

English, Arabic
Duration of performance unknown

credits

concept Georgina Van Welie, Sulayman Al-Bassam text Sulayman Al-Bassam direction Sulayman Al-Bassam script editting Georgina Van Welie set Sam Collins music Lewis Gibson sound design Lewis Gibson light design Marcus Doshi costumes Abdullah Al Awadhi Direction assistant Nigel Barrett cast Fayez Kazak, Amal Omran, Carole Abboud, Sulayman Al-Bassam, Nicolas Daniel, Nowar Yusuf, Nassar Al Nassar, Faisal Al-Ameeri musician Tom Parkinson production SABAB Theatre stage manager Saad El Shaarawy technical assistance Mohamed Sadik production management Aude Albiges lead surtitles Wafa Al Fraheen general manager Wafa Al Fraheen tour Faisal Al Obaid show leader Dana Mikhail touring assistent Dana Mikhail producer Natasha Freedman administration Saif Aleslam Al-Arief thanks to Claire Béjanin, Agility Logistics, Dar al Athar Al Islamiyyah